Leonardo has recently celebrated a decade of operations with its Helicopter Training Academy headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the company announced on 21 February 2024.
Leonardo first started delivering localised maintenance and support services in Malaysia in 2007, while 2010 saw the arrival of Malaysia’s first batch of AW139 twin-engine helicopters for passenger transport, disaster relief, and maritime patrol/search and rescue. The training academy was then established in 2013 and is the only such facility not located in one of Leonardo’s domestic markets.
After its first year of operations almost 200 students had been trained at the academy and nearly 1,500 full flight simulator (FFS) hours had been amassed. Ten years on that volume of training has significantly increased, with approximately 450 pilots and technicians trained in 2023 and 3,300 flight hours logged on simulators. The academy’s headcount has also doubled over time, growing to 120 professionals.
Malaysia is a strategic hub for Leonardo in the Asian market and for a range of missions, enabling effective reach and to serve operators spread over a number of countries. The company’s next steps will see the Helicopter Training Academy adding a new FFS with roll on/off capabilities, an AW189 FFS, a second AW139 FFS, an AW169 flight training device and a new building.
Meanwhile, over the last decade Leonardo’s technical services based in Malaysia, which include maintenance, repair and overhaul, modification, upgrade and reconfiguration, and blade repair work, have demonstrated an impressive 170% growth, according to the company.
Today Leonardo is using its operations in Malaysia to serve more than 70 operators that use over 220 helicopters and amass more than 40,000 flight hours per year. In more recent years the regional fleets of Super Lynx and AW159 military helicopters have especially benefitted from these localised support services.
